GOLD PANNER MOTOR INN

Project: Alterations and extensions to the historic Gold Panner Motor Inn at Kelso, near Bathurst NSW

Barnson’s Role: Architectural design and drafting; geotechnical testing and reporting; civil and structural engineering design and drafting; and town planning reporting in support

Time frame: Construction started late 2014 and the project was completed in 2016

The Gold Panner is an iconic motor inn with a huge statue of a man panning for gold at its entrance, a nod to the gold rush heritage of the region. The motel was built in the 1960s, just five kilometres east of Bathurst.

According to local folklore, the founder built The Gold Panner as a budget motel, using leftover building materials from a motel he was building in Bathurst's town centre.

Set on a 3.5ha site with sweeping views across Mount Panorama the new owner, Mr Andrew Lambiris, wanted to realise its potential. To do this the Gold Panner needed modernising.

The $950,000 project involved the addition of a 100-seat breakfast room and reconfiguring the 19-room motel to modernise the complex. Barnson developed plans to alter the 19 existing motel rooms, increasing the floor space by 300m2. In addition to this all the rooms were fitted out with spacious new bathrooms, and a new deck was put on each unit to showcase the view.

A breakfast room with kitchen and amenities that integrated with the existing structure was designed, and 16m2 in floor space was added. The changes make the most of the views of Mount Panorama and allow for future expansion.

In addition to this, four new accessible apartments that comply with AS1428.1 for access and mobility were designed for the inn.

Barnson met all the design and planning requirements for the project. The DA was lodged two months after the first meeting and construction started in late 2014.Project Management covered all aspects of the project, and kept the project rolling with minimal delay.